Nuu-chah-nulth language
Encyclopedia
Nuu-chah-nulth is a Wakashan language
spoken in the Pacific Northwest
of North America
, on the west coast of Vancouver Island
from Barkley Sound
to Quatsino Sound
in British Columbia
, by the Nuu-chah-nulth people. Nuu-chah-nulth is a Southern Wakashan language related to Nitinaht
and Makah
.
Kim (2003) estimates the number of Nuu-chah-nulth speakers at approximately 150–200, while the 2001 Canadian census puts the figure at about 505. Linguists find the language fascinating because of its morphological
and phonological
complexity.
It is the first language of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
to have documentary written materials describing it. In the 1780s Captains Vancouver
, Quadra
, and other European explorers and traders frequented Nootka Sound
and the other Nuu-chah-nulth communities, making reports of their voyages. From 1803–1805 John R. Jewitt
, an English blacksmith
, was held captive by chief Maquinna
at Nootka Sound
. He made an effort to learn the language, and in 1815 published a memoir with a brief glossary
of its terms.
The pharyngeal consonants developed from mergers of uvular sounds; /ħ/ derives from a merger of /χ/ and /χʷ/ (which are now comparatively rare) while /ʕ/ came about from a merger of /qʼ/ and /qʷʼ/ (which are now absent from the language).
s
In the environment of glottalized resonants as well as ejective and pharyngeal consonants, vowels can be "laryngealized" which often means creaky voice
.
In general, syllable weight determines stress placement; short vowels followed by non-glottalized consonants and long vowels are heavy. In sequences where there are no heavy syllables or only heavy syllables, the first syllable is stressed.
Nuu-chah-nulth has phonemic short and long vowels. Traditionally, a third class of vowels, known as "variable length" vowels, is recognized. These are vowels that are long when they are found within the first two syllables of a word, and short elsewhere.
and it is believed that oceanic commerce and exchanges between the Nuu-chah-nulth and other Southern Wakashan speakers with the Chinookan
-speaking peoples of the lower Columbia River led to the foundations of the trade jargon that became known as Chinook
in later years. Nootkan words in Chinook Jargon
include hiyu - "many", from Nuu-chah-nulth for "ten", siah - "far", from the Nuu-chah-nulth for "sky".
A dictionary of the language, with some 7,500 entries, was created after 15 years of research. It is based on both work with current speakers and notes from linguist Edward Sapir
, taken almost a century ago. The dictionary, however, is a subject of controversy, with a number of Nuu-chah-nulth elders questioning the accuracy of the terminology, and the author's right to represent their language.
Source: Ha-shilth-sa newspaper, 2003. All translations were compiled with consulation from Nuuchahnulth elders. Ha-shilth-sa (meaning 'interesting news') is the official newspaper for the Nuu-chah-nulth nation.
Wakashan languages
Wakashan is a family of languages spoken in British Columbia around and on Vancouver Island, and in the northwestern corner of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, on the south side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca....
spoken in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, on the west coast of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
from Barkley Sound
Barkley Sound
Barkley Sound, also known historically as Barclay Sound, is south of Ucluelet and north of Bamfield on the west coast of Vancouver Island and forms the entrance to the Alberni Inlet...
to Quatsino Sound
Quatsino Sound
Quatsino Sound is a complex of coastal inlets, bays and islands on northwestern Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the northernmost of the five sounds that pierce the west coast of Vancouver Island, the others being Kyuquot Sound, Nootka Sound, Clayoquot Sound, and...
in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, by the Nuu-chah-nulth people. Nuu-chah-nulth is a Southern Wakashan language related to Nitinaht
Nitinaht language
Ditidaht is a South Wakashan language spoken on the southern part of Vancouver Island. Nitinaht is related to the other South Wakashan languages, Makah and the neighboring Nuu-chah-nulth....
and Makah
Makah language
The Makah language is the Indigenous language spoken by the Makah people. Makah has been extinct as a first language since 2002, when its last fluent native speaker died. However, it survives as a second language, and the Makah tribe is attempting to revive the language, including through preschool...
.
Kim (2003) estimates the number of Nuu-chah-nulth speakers at approximately 150–200, while the 2001 Canadian census puts the figure at about 505. Linguists find the language fascinating because of its morphological
Morphology (linguistics)
In linguistics, morphology is the identification, analysis and description, in a language, of the structure of morphemes and other linguistic units, such as words, affixes, parts of speech, intonation/stress, or implied context...
and phonological
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
complexity.
It is the first language of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
The Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those historical peoples. They are now situated within the Canadian Province of British Columbia and the U.S...
to have documentary written materials describing it. In the 1780s Captains Vancouver
George Vancouver
Captain George Vancouver RN was an English officer of the British Royal Navy, best known for his 1791-95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon...
, Quadra
Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra
Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra was a Spanish naval officer born in Lima, Peru. Assigned to the Pacific coast Spanish Naval Department base at San Blas, in the Viceroyalty of New Spain , this navigator explored the Northwest Coast of North America as far north as present day Alaska.Juan...
, and other European explorers and traders frequented Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound is a complex inlet or sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Historically also known as King George's Sound, as a strait it separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island.-History:The inlet is part of the...
and the other Nuu-chah-nulth communities, making reports of their voyages. From 1803–1805 John R. Jewitt
John R. Jewitt
John Rodgers Jewitt was an armourer who entered the historical record with his memoirs about the 28 months he spent as a captive of Maquinna of the Nuu-chah-nulth people on the Pacific Northwest Coast of what is now Canada...
, an English blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
, was held captive by chief Maquinna
Maquinna
Maquinna was the chief of the Nuu-chah-nulth people of Nootka Sound, during the heyday of the maritime fur trade in the 1780s and 1790s on the Pacific Northwest Coast...
at Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound is a complex inlet or sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Historically also known as King George's Sound, as a strait it separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island.-History:The inlet is part of the...
. He made an effort to learn the language, and in 1815 published a memoir with a brief glossary
Glossary
A glossary, also known as an idioticon, vocabulary, or clavis, is an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms...
of its terms.
Consonants
The 35 consonants of Nuu-chah-nulth:| Bilabial Bilabial consonant In phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a consonant articulated with both lips. The bilabial consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet are:... |
Alveolar Alveolar consonant Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli of the superior teeth... 1 |
Palatal Palatal consonant Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate... |
Velar Velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum).... |
Uvular Uvular consonant Uvulars are consonants articulated with the back of the tongue against or near the uvula, that is, further back in the mouth than velar consonants. Uvulars may be plosives, fricatives, nasal stops, trills, or approximants, though the IPA does not provide a separate symbol for the approximant, and... |
Pharyn- geal Pharyngeal consonant A pharyngeal consonant is a type of consonant which is articulated with the root of the tongue against the pharynx.-Pharyngeal consonants in the IPA:Pharyngeal consonants in the International Phonetic Alphabet :... |
Glottal Glottal consonant Glottal consonants, also called laryngeal consonants, are consonants articulated with the glottis. Many phoneticians consider them, or at least the so-called fricative, to be transitional states of the glottis without a point of articulation as other consonants have; in fact, some do not consider... |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| central | lateral Lateral consonant A lateral is an el-like consonant, in which airstream proceeds along the sides of the tongue, but is blocked by the tongue from going through the middle of the mouth.... |
plain | labial | plain | labial | ||||||
| Nasal Nasal consonant A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :... |
plain | m | n | ||||||||
| glottalized Glottalization Glottalization is the complete or partial closure of the glottis during the articulation of another sound. Glottalization of vowels and other sonorants is most often realized as creaky voice... 2 |
ˀm | ˀn | |||||||||
| Stop Stop consonant In phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or an oral stop, is a stop consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases. The occlusion may be done with the tongue , lips , and &... |
plain | p | t | k | kʷ | q | qʷ | ʔ | |||
| ejective Ejective consonant In phonetics, ejective consonants are voiceless consonants that are pronounced with simultaneous closure of the glottis. In the phonology of a particular language, ejectives may contrast with aspirated or tenuis consonants... |
pʼ | tʼ | kʼ | kʷʼ | |||||||
| Affricate Affricate consonant Affricates are consonants that begin as stops but release as a fricative rather than directly into the following vowel.- Samples :... |
plain | t͡s | t͡ɬ | t͡ʃ | |||||||
| ejective | t͡sʼ | t͡ɬʼ | t͡ʃʼ | ||||||||
| Fricative Fricative consonant Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or... |
s | ɬ | ʃ | x | xʷ | χ | χʷ | ħ | h | ||
| Approximant Approximant consonant Approximants are speech sounds that involve the articulators approaching each other but not narrowly enough or with enough articulatory precision to create turbulent airflow. Therefore, approximants fall between fricatives, which do produce a turbulent airstream, and vowels, which produce no... |
plain | j | w | ʕ3 | |||||||
| glottalized2 | ˀj | ˀw | |||||||||
- Of the alveolar consonants, nasal and laterals are apico-alveolar while the rest are denti-alveolar.
- Glottalized resonants (nasals and approximants) are realized as resonants with pre-glottalization. They are arguably conceptually the same as ejective consonants.
- /ʕ/ is an approximantApproximant consonantApproximants are speech sounds that involve the articulators approaching each other but not narrowly enough or with enough articulatory precision to create turbulent airflow. Therefore, approximants fall between fricatives, which do produce a turbulent airstream, and vowels, which produce no...
, not a fricativeFricative consonantFricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or...
(The IPAInternational Phonetic AlphabetThe International Phonetic Alphabet "The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic...
does not have a unique symbol for this sound). This phonemePhonemeIn a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
is more often epiglottalEpiglottal consonantAn epiglottal consonant is a consonant that is articulated with the aryepiglottic folds against the epiglottis. They are occasionally called aryepiglottal consonants.-Epiglottal consonants in the IPA:...
and functions phonologically as a pharyngealPharyngeal consonantA pharyngeal consonant is a type of consonant which is articulated with the root of the tongue against the pharynx.-Pharyngeal consonants in the IPA:Pharyngeal consonants in the International Phonetic Alphabet :...
stop.
The pharyngeal consonants developed from mergers of uvular sounds; /ħ/ derives from a merger of /χ/ and /χʷ/ (which are now comparatively rare) while /ʕ/ came about from a merger of /qʼ/ and /qʷʼ/ (which are now absent from the language).
Vowels
Nuu-chah-nulth vowels are influenced by surrounding consonants with certain "back" consonants conditioning lower, more back vowel allophoneAllophone
In phonology, an allophone is one of a set of multiple possible spoken sounds used to pronounce a single phoneme. For example, and are allophones for the phoneme in the English language...
s
| Front Front vowel A front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far in front as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also... |
Central Central vowel A central vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a central vowel is that the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel... |
Back Back vowel A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark... |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| long | short | long | short | long | short | |
| Close Close vowel A close vowel is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.This term is prescribed by the... |
iː | i | uː | u | ||
| Mid Mid vowel A mid vowel is a vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned mid-way between an open vowel and a close vowel... 1 |
(ɛː) | (ə) | (ɔː) | |||
| Open Open vowel An open vowel is defined as a vowel sound in which the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth. Open vowels are sometimes also called low vowels in reference to the low position of the tongue... |
aː | a | ||||
- The Mid vowels [ɛː] and [ɔː] appear in vocativeVocative caseThe vocative case is the case used for a noun identifying the person being addressed and/or occasionally the determiners of that noun. A vocative expression is an expression of direct address, wherein the identity of the party being spoken to is set forth expressly within a sentence...
forms and in ceremonial expressions. [ə] is a possible realization of /a/ after a glottalized sonorant.
In the environment of glottalized resonants as well as ejective and pharyngeal consonants, vowels can be "laryngealized" which often means creaky voice
Creaky voice
In linguistics, creaky voice , is a special kind of phonation in which the arytenoid cartilages in the larynx are drawn together; as a result, the vocal folds are compressed rather tightly, becoming relatively slack and compact...
.
In general, syllable weight determines stress placement; short vowels followed by non-glottalized consonants and long vowels are heavy. In sequences where there are no heavy syllables or only heavy syllables, the first syllable is stressed.
Nuu-chah-nulth has phonemic short and long vowels. Traditionally, a third class of vowels, known as "variable length" vowels, is recognized. These are vowels that are long when they are found within the first two syllables of a word, and short elsewhere.
Vocabulary
The Nuu-chah-nulth language contributed many words to the vocabulary of the Chinook JargonChinook Jargon
Chinook Jargon originated as a pidgin trade language of the Pacific Northwest, and spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to other areas in modern Oregon and Washington, then British Columbia and as far as Alaska, sometimes taking on characteristics of a creole language...
and it is believed that oceanic commerce and exchanges between the Nuu-chah-nulth and other Southern Wakashan speakers with the Chinookan
Chinookan
Chinook refers to several native amercain groups of in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, speaking the Chinookan languages. In the early 19th century, the Chinookan-speaking peoples lived along the lower and middle Columbia River in present-day Oregon and Washington...
-speaking peoples of the lower Columbia River led to the foundations of the trade jargon that became known as Chinook
Chinook Jargon
Chinook Jargon originated as a pidgin trade language of the Pacific Northwest, and spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to other areas in modern Oregon and Washington, then British Columbia and as far as Alaska, sometimes taking on characteristics of a creole language...
in later years. Nootkan words in Chinook Jargon
Chinook Jargon
Chinook Jargon originated as a pidgin trade language of the Pacific Northwest, and spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to other areas in modern Oregon and Washington, then British Columbia and as far as Alaska, sometimes taking on characteristics of a creole language...
include hiyu - "many", from Nuu-chah-nulth for "ten", siah - "far", from the Nuu-chah-nulth for "sky".
A dictionary of the language, with some 7,500 entries, was created after 15 years of research. It is based on both work with current speakers and notes from linguist Edward Sapir
Edward Sapir
Edward Sapir was an American anthropologist-linguist, widely considered to be one of the most important figures in the early development of the discipline of linguistics....
, taken almost a century ago. The dictionary, however, is a subject of controversy, with a number of Nuu-chah-nulth elders questioning the accuracy of the terminology, and the author's right to represent their language.
Dialects
Nuu-chah-nulth has 12 different dialects:- Ahousaht [ʕaːħuːsʔatħ]
- Ehattesaht ( Ehattisaht) [ʔiːħatisʔatħ]
- Hesquiat [ħiʃkʷiːʔatħ]
- Kyuquot [qaːjʼuːkʼatħ]
- Mowachaht [muwat͡ʃʼatħ]
- Nuchatlaht [nut͡ʃaːɬʔatħ]
- Ohiaht [huːʔiːʔatħ]
- Clayoquot ( Tla.o.qui.aht) [taʔuːkʷiʔatħ]
- Toquaht [tʼukʼʷaːʔatħ]
- Tseshaht ( Sheshaht) [t͡ʃʼiʃaːʔatħ]
- Uchuklesaht ( Uchucklesaht) [ħuːt͡ʃuqtisʔatħ]
- Ucluelet [juːɬuʔiɬʔatħ]
Translations of tribal names
- Nuu-Chah-Nulth - "all along the mountains and sea." Nuu-chah-nulth were formerly "Nootka" (but they prefer not to be called that, rather Nuu-chah-nulth which better explains how all the tribes are connected to the land and the sea). Some of the names following (Ditidaht, Makah) are not part of the Nuu-chah-nulth political organization, however; all are "Aht" (people). The term Nuu-chah-nulth-aht is also used, meaning "people all along the mountains and the sea."
- Ahousaht - People living with their backs to the land and mountains.
- Ucluelet - People with a safe landing place for canoes.
- Ehattesaht - People of a tribe with many clans
- Checkleset – People from the place where you gain strength
- Hesquiaht - People who tear with their teeth
- Kyuquot - Different people
- Mowachaht - People of the deer
- Muchalaht – People who live on the Muchalee river
- Nuchatlaht - People of a sheltered bay
- Huu-ay-aht - People who recovered
- Tseshaht - People from an island that reeks of whale remains
- Tla-o-qui-aht - People of other tribes
- Toquaht - People from a situated area
- Uchucklesaht - People of the inside harbour
- Ditidaht - People from a place in the forest
- Hupacasath - People living on the edge (of the banks)
- Quidiishdaht (Makah) - People living on the outside
Translations of place names
Nuuchahnulth had a name for each place within their traditional territory. These are just a few still used to this day:- hisaawista (esowista) – Captured by clubbing the people who lived there to death.
- Yuquot (friendly Cove) = - Where they get the north winds.
- nootk-sitl (Nootka) – Go around.
- maaqtusiis – A place across the island.
- kakawis – Fronted by a rock that looks like a container.
- kitsuksis – Log across mouth of creek
- opitsaht – Island that the moon lands on.
- pacheena – Foamy.
- tsu-ma-uss (somass) – Washing.
- tsahaheh – To go up.
- hitac`u (itatsoo) – Ucluelet reserve.
- t’iipis – polly’s point.
- Tsaxana – A place close to the river.
- Cheewat – Pulling tide.
Source: Ha-shilth-sa newspaper, 2003. All translations were compiled with consulation from Nuuchahnulth elders. Ha-shilth-sa (meaning 'interesting news') is the official newspaper for the Nuu-chah-nulth nation.
See also
- Nuu-chah-nulth people
- Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal CouncilNuu-chah-nulth Tribal CouncilThe Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council is a First Nations Tribal Council in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located on the west coast of Vancouver Island.- History :...
- Nitinaht languageNitinaht languageDitidaht is a South Wakashan language spoken on the southern part of Vancouver Island. Nitinaht is related to the other South Wakashan languages, Makah and the neighboring Nuu-chah-nulth....
- MakahMakah languageThe Makah language is the Indigenous language spoken by the Makah people. Makah has been extinct as a first language since 2002, when its last fluent native speaker died. However, it survives as a second language, and the Makah tribe is attempting to revive the language, including through preschool...
External links
- An extract from the forthcoming Nuuchahnulth Dictionary
- Description page at EthnologueEthnologueEthnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...
- Bibliography of Materials on the Nuuchanulth Language (YDLI)
- Nuuchahnulth (Nootka) (Chris Harvey’s Native Language, Font, & Keyboard)
- The Wakashan Linguistics Page
- Nootka Language and the Nootka Indian Tribe at native-languages.org